Our Chapter Sponsors are the best of the best. Their continued support is crucial in everything we do; grateful is an understatement! We encourage our members to consider Sponsors first if they are in need of products or services.

See right sidebar for a full list of 2021 Chapter Sponsors.

2020 SPONSORS: We want you in the AIA Birmingham Family in 2021! Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com to renew today! Click here to view the 2021 Sponsor Brochure.

AIA Birmingham Events

It’s only March, and we have already had some great HSW events: Solonia Mack with Jefferson County Housing Authority in January, and Zero Energy School Design from Kenny Stanfield, AIA, LEED AP. Keep reading to see what’s next!

Questions about an AIA Birmingham event or continuing education?
Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com!

We moved to all virtual events in the wake of COVID-19, and we will continue online in the foreseeable future. We will reach out when anything changes. Thanks for understanding!

3/11: March Chapter Meeting (HSW)

Click here to register online!

Matthew Churnock, Director of Planning and Development at Navigate Affordable Housing Partners will provide a background on Navigate’s Performance-Based Contract Administration in the preservation of Affordable Housing as well as holistic Community Development through community stabilization, workforce housing, equitable education opportunity and catalytic development.

Renew your AIA Birmingham Membership before 3/31

AIA Members who do not renew prior to 3/31 will be lapsed.

Click here for more information about renewal!

Renew your Cal EMA Online

Please follow these instructions for the online recertification training. Once you complete the exam, the system will automatically notify Cal OES, who will produce a new SAP ID card and send it to you at the address listed in the Cal OES database. After working through the instructions below, nothing more is needed on your part.

Access the on-line Refresher Course by means of the following steps:

1. Go to   https://csti-ca.csod.com/default.aspx?c=caloes-recovery-sap
2. Click on the yellow Register box and create a new account. You will need your SAP ID Number.
3. Register with an e-mail where we can send a callout message to you, bearing in mind a callout may not happen while you are at work. We do not recommend a work e-mail in the event you change jobs or retire.
4. Register with a mailing address where we can mail you your card.
5. When submitting the form, you will see a message telling you the registration is pending approval. Cal OES will receive an e-mail that you registered and approve you within 24 hours.
6. Once your account is approved, you need to request the SAP Online Evaluator Refresher Training. 
7. (Look for the yellow SAP Training button and then click on the yellow box titled Online Evaluator Training).   
8. Click on the Request button.  It may take up to 24 hours for the request to be approved.
9. Click on Open Curriculum. The modules are separated into 6 different sections.
10. Every slide and link in each module must be viewed before the module is considered complete.
11. Each module must be completed before moving on to the next. Knowledge checks inside the modules are not scored and are only used for reference.
12. Once all modules are complete you may then take the final exam. If you fail the exam, you must review the modules and retake the exam.  You may retake the exam up to three times before you need to wait a week before retaking the exam.

On-Demand HSWs from Lighting Solutions Alabama (Platinum Sponsor)

Click here to view the full selection.

Thanks to Lighting Solutions of Alabama for their support of AIA Birmingham!

Job Search Assistance for AIA Birmingham Members

• AIA Birmingham Careers Page
  • New opportunities are listed regularly here!
  • AIA Birmingham Member Firms can post openings free of charge. Email listings to katie@karmamanagementinc.com.
• Resume Review & Sharing
  • AIA Birmingham can review your resume and share it with local firms looking to fill a position.

For additional job listings, check out the AIA National Career Center and AIA Alabama Job Board!

Contract Documents

AIA Birmingham Members get a 10% discount when they order documents through AIA Birmingham. Click here for more information!

Emerging Professionals

• AIA Birmingham offers HSW opportunities and site visits throughout the year; these can also count as AXP Experience Hours!
• Free AIA Membership for new grads
• We have the Brightwood Architecture ARE 5.0 Study Guides available to check-out. Members provide a fully refundable $50 cash deposit. Click here to learn more.

Women in Architecture

• Our Women in Architecture Mentor Groups can forge connections between women in the profession. In normal times, our groups meet regularly for fun and fellowship. We look forward to getting back to this later in 2021.
• For the time being, we recommend taking advantage of this new virtual world by participating in some online discussions. You can connect with other professionals from across the USA by checking out these WIA and EDI events from AIA National!

Helpful Links from AIA National

• Free AIA Membership for new grads
• Free AIAU Courses for members on risk management, business strategies, and virtual practice
• AIA Knowledge Communities help members connect and are a source for information
• AIA Award Programs
• AIA Legislative Action Center advocates for architects
• AIA Trust – Exclusive financial planning and insurance tools
• COVID-19 Resources

Alabama Center for Architecture (ACFA)

Register for all ACFA events & pay for Membership online here!

• April 2021: The BLOCK Project + Facing Homelessness (HSW)
• May 2021: ACFA Clay Shoot Fundraiser — More info soon!
• Fall 2021: Affordable Housing Symposium with David Baker Architects (HSW)
• October 2021: ACFA Golf Tournament (Benefitting Scholarship Program)
• October 2021: National Building Museum’s Evicted exhibit traveling to Birmingham
  • Add the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond to your reading list!

Want to help the ACFA continue offering scholarships, educational outreach, and more?

Become a Member! Do you want to impact the lives of Alabamians through architecture? Give to the ACFA and help support their educational outreach initiatives such as dreamARCHITECTURE, N2 Architecture, and the ACFA Scholarship Program.

Pay for Membership online here OR mail a check to the ACFA at 109 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. S., Birmingham, AL 35233. Email katie@karmamanagementinc.com with any questions about ACFA Membership!

AIA Birmingham is proud to have many Member Firms and Sponsors who belong to the ACFA:

• Adams Gerndt Design Group
• Alabama Concrete Industries Association
• B-Group Architecture
• Bill Whittaker, Registered Architect
• Brasfield & Gorrie
• Blackmon Rogers Architects
• Ghafari Associates
• KPS Group
• Line Scale Form
• Risk Strategies
• Studio 2H Design
• Studio C Architecture & Interiors
• Taylor Plosser Davis, Architect
• Thompson Architecture
• Williams Blackstock Architects

Participate in fundraising HSW events! The ACFA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Each time you attend an ACFA fundraiser, proceeds from your purchase go directly to carrying out their mission of advancing the enjoyment of architecture and design through engagement, education, and collaboration.

Are you an Amazon Shopper? If so, consider starting your shopping at https://smile.amazon.com, and choose the ACFA as your nonprofit. Amazon will donate a portion of your sale to the ACFA!